Hydrogen imports from Norway: Habeck forges energy partnership with Oslo

Hydrogen imports from Norway
Habeck forges energy partnership with Oslo

Norway is already one of Germany’s most important energy suppliers. Economics Minister Habeck is now strengthening cooperation with Oslo with a hydrogen partnership. This is important for the “green transformation” – but fossil fuels continue to play a major role.

Germany and Norway want to further expand their energy partnership, which has been intensified since Russia attacked Ukraine. The coal in the German energy supply should be largely replaced by hydrogen power plants by 2030, said Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck after a meeting with the Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in Oslo. “We want to build gas-fired power plants that run on hydrogen. This hydrogen can and should be provided from Norway,” said the Vice Chancellor. A key point of the partnership should be the construction of a hydrogen pipeline between the countries by 2030.

“Norway, which has built its economic wealth on the export of oil and gas,” must decarbonize its energy, Habeck said. “And of course Germany is a customer for the decarbonized energy.” Rarely in their history have the two countries been so dependent on each other, Støre also emphasized. “Germany is Norway’s most important partner in Europe.” He knows that hydrogen is particularly important “for the green transformation and for Germany”. Habeck and Støre signed a joint declaration for future cooperation in this area.

After the almost complete stop of Russian natural gas deliveries, Norway has already become the most important supplier. More than a third of the German demand comes from there.

Norway to supply blue hydrogen

The idea is that Norway will process its natural gas into hydrogen by capturing CO2. This gas is called blue hydrogen because of its origin from the fossil fuel. In perspective, Norway then wants to produce large quantities of so-called green hydrogen exclusively from renewable energies. The energy source is considered a beacon of hope in the climate-friendly restructuring of the economy.

The states also want to work together on underground storage of the greenhouse gas CO2. This so-called CCS technology (Carbon Capture and Storage) is prohibited in Germany. However, Habeck wants changes here to make CO2 separation possible for the steel or cement industry. In view of the climate goals, there is no longer any time to look for alternatives: “It’s better to put the CO2 into the earth than into the atmosphere,” he said. Norway is also developing storage for CO2 from other countries as a business model. The environmental organization Greenpeace criticized the proposal as a “sham solution” that should not obscure the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

RWE and Equinor agree on cooperation

The Norwegian company Equinor and the Essen-based RWE Group have agreed to jointly build the necessary infrastructure for this cooperation. RWE boss Markus Krebber and Anders Opedal from Equinor have concluded a strategic energy partnership in the Norwegian capital Oslo RWE announced. The project therefore also includes major projects for European energy supply.

The agreements between RWE and Equinor were made on the assumption that a hydrogen pipeline would be built between Norway and Germany and that the necessary infrastructure for onward transport would be built in Germany. “The cooperation has the potential to make Norway an important supplier of hydrogen for Germany and Europe,” said Opedal according to the announcement.

Krebber emphasized: “In order to make progress in the conversion from fossil fuels to hydrogen, a rapid expansion of the hydrogen economy is urgently needed.” They also want to invest in hydrogen-capable gas power plants (H2ready). The plants with a capacity of around 3 GW are to be built by 2030 and run entirely on hydrogen by the mid-2030s.

Green hydrogen from wind power planned

By 2030, it should initially be possible to export 2 gigawatts (GW) of blue hydrogen from Norway to Germany, and by 2038 it should be up to 10 GW. The hydrogen pipeline required for this is currently being examined by Gassco, Equinor and third parties, the statement said. Equinor would transport the blue hydrogen via this pipeline, RWE would purchase it and use it in hydrogen-capable gas-fired power plants to produce electricity.

In addition, RWE and Equinor want to work together on projects to generate green hydrogen. Both companies want to explore possibilities in Norway, Germany and in countries bordering the planned hydrogen pipeline to produce green hydrogen there using wind power at sea.

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